2007 In a Glance

Here's a look at our year in Review:
January – Christian & Andrew started going to Storytime at the Pleasant Grove Library. They have so much fun & ask every day if it is Storytime day. We went on an awesome trip to California. We went to San Diego, Disneyland, The Beach & Vegas. It was so much fun to go on Vacation with Steve’s family. It always makes for good stories all year long.
February - Tragedy struck at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City when a crazed young man shot and killed seven innocent people, bringing the reality of what's seen on the news home to us in Utah. Andrew Started sleeping through the night & eating whole jars of food.
March – Christian is able to recognize all his letters. Now whenever we are out & about he just yells out letters. Steve went on his first business trip & left me and the boys. We survived but were sure glad when daddy came home. Grandma came to visit!
April – Christian turned 2 years old. We had a fun birthday party with all your cousins. We went to Canada for Carries Wedding. It was fun to spend the week with family. Steve turned 28!!!!! We went to St George with your cousins. That was a fun week filled with swimming & lots of playing. Andrew learned to clap, cut his first tooth & can say Dada. I got to go on my Scrapbook retreat which was so much fun. I went to a huge cabin with 30 other woman & scrapbooked all night. We had lots of treats & lots of fun. We went hot-tubbing every night & enjoyed not having to get up with any kids in the middle of the night. Can’t wait to go next year!
May - We started to put our garden in. We planted Zuchinni, & tomatoes. We went to Heber & got to ride Thomas the Train. Tha was definitely a fun day for both boys. Andrew learned to climb stairs. We had 5 BBQ’s in 1 month. We sure love our Hamburgers & Hot Dogs.
June – We went to the Cabin 3 times this month. It was a lot of fun. We slept out on the back deck. Steve & I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We kicked off our summer of fairs & festivals by attending the Orem City Festival. It was a lot of fun. . . I do wonder where all the white trash people hide throughout the year. They all seem to come out to these festivals. We went to a Stingers baseball game with our friend Hailey. Steve & Christian went to Fathers & Sons. They had so much fun & next year Andrew gets to go (Yeah for Mommy) We went to the Strawberry Days Rodeo 3 nights in a row. By the last night mommy had the process down to a science. I knew exactly what treats to pack & everything. Jane & I went to the Kenny Chesney Concert at Usana Ampitheatre It was a blast. A Kenny Concert can never get too dull!
July – Jane & I road tripped to Kallispell Montana to go to the Lake with The Schow family. It was a blast. Christian still talks about it. We definitely need to plan another trip like that. I turned 27 years old. Had the first Fry Party. What a novel idea! We went to 3 baseball games, The Utah county fair at Thanksgiving point. And many days were spent lounging at the American Fork Pool. That is the life I tell you! My baby Andrew started walking. Went Camping in the uintas & almost didn’t make it.
August - Steve & I went on Trek with the youth from our Stake. What an experience. The longer I am home the more I can look back & enjoy it. Andrew turned 1. We had a Fiesta party, Homemade Fajitas, Homemade Bavarian cream empanadas. . . Lots of yummy food. I flew by myself with 2 kids 2 and under. We spent a week in Virginia & a week at the Beach with all the Schow’s (I missed you Jill) it was such a fun trip. OBX 2007 lives on.
September – Went Camping for the last time this year. Went to the State fair 2 times. Once again Where do all those people come from.
October – Grandma & Grandpa came to visit!! Carrie & Aunt Jeannie came to visit too!! Nikki & Joe got married. It was a really fun day. We went to the Scarecrow festival, & Barnyard boo. We went to the pumpkin patch with our friends. Halloween was a great night. The boys realized what Trick or Treat really means. They both were Pirates. AArgh!!!
November - Planned our Day after Thanksgiving shopping spree. Organized a cute Thanksgiving Craft. Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, good food! Started playing Bunko. Who knew it could be such a fun game. Decorated for Christmas before December 1st. The boys did a great job with the tree.
December – Grandma & Grandpa came to visit again!! Sinter Klaus came on December 5th. We went to Rexburg Idaho for Luke & Kara’s graduation. Went on 4 girls night out this month (I think that is a record) Had a wonderful Christmas with my family, having kids makes all the difference. Enjoyed driving around & seeing all the lights. I am the host of the New Years Eve party tomorrow night!!!

Merry Christmas

We have had quite the eventful couple of days. Yesterday for Christmas Eve we went with Steves Family to National Treasure 2. It was a really fun movie, I only wish Andrew enjoyed it like we did. He finally fell asleep the last half hour. Then we went & had dinner, played games & Santa brought an early present. . . . PJ's. We got all the cousins matching Camo PJ's & they were so cute. Last night Christian & Andrew were so cute about putting out cookies, carrots & Hot cocoa for Santa & the Reindeers.

When they woke up this morning it was so much fun. Everytime you asked Christian what he wanted for Christmas he said airplanes. . So Santa brought airplanes. When he saw them this morning he was so excited He kept saying I told him I wanted them & he brought them. I told him!!! Having Christmas with Little kids is a blast. We had to take a break halfway through to eat our yummy breakfast of Monkey Bread!! So healthy & declicious. We then got ready to go back to Steve's parents and open presents with Grandma & Grandpa. We had a fun day.

We wish we were able to go to Canada with my family & cousins but with the storms coming it just wouldn't be safe to be out on the road. Thank you for all the gifts. It has been a wonderful day!!

P.S. I never did send out Christmas cards this year. I had good intentions and then the time got away from me. I figure most of the people I was going to send them to read my blog so you are updated as to what my family is doing. But when I was thinking about sending them out this was the picture i was going to use. What a pair of cuties!!

Back to the Old Stompin Ground

The View as you Drive into Rexburg

BirchWood. . . Just a note apt 601 had a christmas tree on the balcony I guess that is an upgrade from an ugly couch

The boys enjoy suckers & drinks from Horkleys. . . BTW I got a 44 oz soda for 57 cents. not that I needed a soda that size but it was a steal of a deal. My whole purchase was 82 centsWhat would a trip to Rexburg be without visiting Mean Jean

This weekend I went back to Rexburg & IF for my brothers Graduation from BYU-I. . . .While in rexburg I got a little nostalgic until i realized that I am closer to 30 than I am to 20. It kind of made me sad. I drove around visitng old hang outs & seeing how much things have changed. They are building a ton & it isn't the quaint Rexburg it use to be. This is for you Torrey & Steph!!


I want to put a disclaimer that hopefully more pictures are to come as I am in Eastern Idaho until Sunday & I am in none of these pictures cause it was me & the boys venturing by ourselves while the others enjoyed a (most likely long & boring) graduation ceremony.

What is left of the old Retrix

Self Explantory

Bowling with the Boys

This Weekend we took the boys bowling at Jack & Jill's Bowling Alley. It was a lot of fun. Christian bowled a 95 & Andrew got a 94. I guess it really does help if you have the bumpers and a ramp. Here are a few pictures from our fun family outing. Hope you guys enjoyed your weekend together. I loved having Steve home with us. It is going to be sad when he goes back to work tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Craft

This year I was in charge of the Thanksgiving craft & was at a loss of ideas until. . . . I looked in my scrapbook magazine. I found the cutest homemade advent calander. It is made out of matchboxes, scrapbook paper & magnets. I recreated it & added a few things. Each day I added a scripture/story about Christmas, and holiday M&M's as a treat. It was a little time consuming but hopefully my kids love it & it was all worth it.

An attitude of Grattitude

1. The things I give thanks for this Thanksgiving:
my family
an evergrowing testimony of the gospel
good health
great friends, and a husband that supports my desire for "girls nights out"
the necessities of life (house, jobs, food, etc).
my calling in the Relief Society
parents that love me
a temple down the road
2. My Thanksgiving traditions include:
cooking lots of good food--Thanksgiving gets me in the cooking mood, and it continues clear throughout New Years
getting together with family not that this is any different from our weekly Sunday Dinners. . . but it is still fun

Making fun turkey crafts with the boys

Since all the guys are either playing football or watching it, my sister-in-laws & i decided that we will make a craft before dinner. This year it is my turn to be in charge of it & i still don't have an idea. . . . . We will see what I come up with.

Thanksgiving night we usually all sit around and watch Surviving Christmas. It is one of those dumb funny movies. It has Ben Affleck & is pretty funny, it didn't get good ratings but neither did Dumb & Dumber so I suggest you give it a try this Christmas Season!!

After the movie we pack up & go home, at this point all the wives put their children to bed & then head back over to Steve's parents and that is when the real party starts. We have a sleepover, & pour over all the ads getting ready for our early shopping day. . . This year we got to be out the door at 3:45. The stores open at 4:00am this year!

3. My favorite Thanksgiving food is: Whipped Sweet Potatoes (they have to be done just right, I have an awesome recipe if you want it)

4. My funniest Thanksgiving memory: The first Thanksgiving I spent with Steve's family was before we were even engaged & I was just getting to know the family & during dinner Steve's brother looks at me and says their tradition is to bear their testimony at the table starting with the newest member of the family, so I looked at Steve & he went along with it & then his dad started asking me to. I was honestly about to do it and then they stopped me. I have never lived that one down!!!

5. Tom the Turkey with the Terrible Temper. On Sunday we read this story to the kids & then made the cutest Turkey I ever did see. . . i thought I would share a picture of Christian with his turkey his is itching to eat. . . I am surprise it still has all its feathers!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thanks for sharing your "thankful lists" on your blogs. It's been really fun to read.
**What are your Thanksgiving traditions?**
**What are the Thanksgiving foods that you couldn't live without?**
**Has anything exciting ever happened to you on Thanksgiving day? Or embarrassing?**

Lets Try This Again

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in a Week. I am proud to say I have quite a bit of my shopping done. All I have left are my boys & Steve. I am going with my Sister-in-laws Shopping the day after Thanksgiving. It is so much fun. We sleep at Steve's parents house & wake up at 4:30 in the morning to hit Kohls at 5:00 when it opens, Target at 6:00 & Old Navy at 7:00. Usually we then go to Ihop for breakfast. It is a fun tradition that we started. I don't have my assignment yet for Thanksgiving dinner, but I hope I get to make the Raspberry Pretzel Salad. It is so good & I only make it once a year on Thanksgiving. It is a lot of work to just randomly make. I will post the recipe.

So yesterday I thought I was having a bad day dealing with a little family drama. Well come to find out this lady that I visit teach was at the hospital delivering her 20 week old stillborn baby. My VT companion came & got me saying we need to go right now. As we got to the hospital and walked in her room to see tears rolling down her eyes, I felt very humbled. I was crying over spilled milk when I didn't need to. It helped me put things in perspective. I realized that yesterday was only a speck in the eternal scheme of things. My heart is breaking for Amberlynn. She has 3 boys and this was her little girl, but thanks to the gospel she knows Heavenly Father has a plan.

Hope you have a great day today. Enjoy this recipe!!

Raspberry Pretzel Salad

¾ cup butter or margarine
2 ½ cups thing pretzel sticks
1 (8 oz) cream cheese
1 (8 oz) tub Cool whip
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 large pkg raspberry flavored jello
2 (10 oz) packages frozen raspberries, undrained & slightly thawed

Melt butter & pour into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Break pretzels in half & pat evenly into the pan. Bake 10 minutes at 400. Remove from oven & cool.
In large bowl combine cream cheese, cool whip & sugar. Dab on top of pretzels & spread to edges of pan. Refrigerate fro about 1 hour.
Bring water to a boil. Completely dissolve jello in boiling water & cool in fridge until syrupy. Add slightly thawed raspberries & stir. Pour carefully over top of cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate overnight or several hours until firm.